So far, Congress has resisted calls to cut the federal funding for the humanities and arts. But this is no time for complacency. We can rest assured that this fight is far from over. That’s why I’m making plans now for what I intend to accomplish in 2018 so that my ongoing work to make the arts accessible to all will not become, like the Langston Hughes’ poem, “A Dream Deferred.”

What are my goals for the coming year?

• Continuing to engage the next generations of artists and audiences.
• Expanding the awareness of the need to focus on community engagement across all sectors of the arts.
• Identifying funding support to enable full execution of community engagement initiatives.
• Deepening partnership collaborations that will build bridges to other diverse constituencies, such as our immigrant communities.
• Advocating for future generations of Arts Leaders of Color to have access to training and employment opportunities in management- and executive-level positions.

As I said in my inaugural blog, we cannot afford to become hopeless, afraid to act, or apolitical. This is our frontline–those of us who know and understand the value of the arts in fostering imagination, critical thinking, discipline, meaning, social interaction and community identity continue to be called to action.

The foundation and bridge of hope and healing that the arts provide remain at stake. It’s important that we encourage all of our colleagues and fellow artists to set bold and outrageous goals for 2018 that will not only protect our essential values, but also our important cultural institutions for us and for future generations.

What actions will you take in the coming year? Please send me your bold and outrageous goals for 2018, by January 30th, and I will post the top 10 in a future blog. Through our collective efforts, let’s ensure that our vision for the arts is neither distracted nor deterred by the political noise swirling around us.